Passenger records held in Perth

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The National Archives office in Perth holds inwards and outwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle and other ports in Western Australia – including Albany, Broome, Bunbury, Busselton, Carnarvon, Cossack, Derby, Geraldton, Onslow and Port Hedland, Point Sampson and Wyndham and Perth airports.

As Fremantle was often the first port of call for passenger ships from Europe and Britain, many of the Fremantle arrival lists also contain the names of 'in-transit' passengers who were intending to disembark at later ports.

Inwards passenger lists

Holdings of inwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle date from 1898 and are available as microfilm (1898–1963) or as original records (from 1964). Copies of the microfilmed lists are also held by the National Archives research centres in Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne, and the J S Battye Library, Perth.

A list of passengers arriving at Albany between 1873 and 1925 is held on microfiche. The list was compiled from passenger records held by the National Archives and the State Records Office of Western Australia by the WA Genealogical Society. Copies are also held by the library of the WA Genealogical Society and the Library and Information Service of Western Australia (LISWA).

Details of the inwards passenger records held by the National Archives in Perth are listed below.

Inwards passenger lists for Western Australian ports

Fremantle and Perth airport
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Ships passenger lists – inwards (Fremantle) (lists for 1898–1963 available on microfilm) 1898–1978 K269
Aircraft passenger lists – inwards (Perth Airport) (lists for 1944–63 available on microfilm) 1945–78 K269

Western Australian 'outports'
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Ships passenger lists – inwards (Albany, Balla Balla, Broome, Bunbury, Carnarvon, Cossack, Derby, Geraldton, Onslow, Port Hedland, Wyndham) 1904–23 PP281/3
Ships passenger lists – inwards (Albany, Balla Balla, Broome, Bunbury, Carnarvon, Cossack, Derby, Geraldton, Onslow, Port Hedland, Wyndham) 1923–35 PP240/3

Outwards passenger lists

Outwards passenger lists for the port of Fremantle date from 1898, though there are gaps in the holdings for the years 1915–20 and 1935. Aircraft departure lists date from 1958.

Passenger lists for the period 1898 to 1910 record outwards passengers departing for overseas, interstate or intrastate destinations. After 1910 the lists include only passengers travelling overseas.

Outwards passenger lists for Western Australian ports

Various Western Australian ports
Title or description of record Date range Series number
Outward ships passenger manifests 1898–1909, 1920–23 PP281/2
Outward ships passenger manifests 1941–46 PP240/6
Outward ships passenger manifests 1961 PP202/3
Outward passenger manifests for ships and aircraft departing Fremantle, Perth airport and outports 1898–1958 K1142
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1923–58 PP240/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1959 PP110/1
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1960 PP132/8
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1962 PP202/6
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1963–64 PP222/4
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1965 PP256/5
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1966 PP262/4
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1967 PP316/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1968 PP336/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1969 PP380/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1970 PP406/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1971 PP450/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1972 PP499/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1973 PP501/2
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1974 PP677/1
Outward ships and aircraft passenger manifests 1975–77 PP688/1
Outward aircraft passenger manifests 1952–57 PP66/5
Outward aircraft passenger manifests 1958–60 PP110/5
Outward aircraft passenger manifests 1961 PP202/4

Passenger lists for Western Australian ports before 1898

Passenger lists for Western Australian ports predating those held by the National Archives are held by the State Records Office of Western Australia.

Other shipping records

The Perth office also holds microfilm copies of the inwards passenger lists for various Queensland ports (1852–1964), Newcastle (1865–81), Darwin (1898–1934) and Melbourne (1924–64). Related records such as nominal rolls, crew lists (from 1897) and ships registers (inwards and outwards) for Fremantle and other Western Australian ports from 1898 are also held.